Assessment: Describing Student Performance Qualitatively

Abstract
The issue of linking testing with instructional practice is not new. In recent years, mathematics educators have been redefining the goals of mathematics education to include increased attention to problem solving and reasoning. For example, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989) and Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (1991) and the National Research Council's Everybody Counts (1989) suggest an emphasis on reasoning, problem solving, conceptual understanding, and communicating mathematically.